Da Cruz demands greater maturity from Kaizer Chiefs forwards after Golden Arrows draw

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz criticised his side’s lack of maturity in attack after they were held to a goalless draw by Lamontville Golden Arrows at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Sunday.

The result extended Chiefs’ run of consecutive draws to two, following a 1-1 stalemate with Polokwane City in their previous Betway Premiership match.

Chiefs struggled to create clear chances throughout the game, managing only one effort on goal across the 90 minutes. Their difficulties were compounded in the first half when Lebohang Maboe saw his penalty saved by Golden Arrows goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa.

“We have a lack of maturity on our front line,” Da Cruz told SuperSport after the match.

“There are a lot of young players, but players with a lot of qualities, but they have a lack of maturity.”

Maboe was replaced shortly after the hour mark by Tanzanian-born forward Adolf Bitegeko after sustaining an injury. The 32-year-old had recently been called up to the Bafana Bafana squad for the AFCON qualifiers.

Da Cruz said the injury forced him to alter his plans during the second half.

“Unfortunately, this injury arrived a little bit early in the second half, and that’s why [we] changed Maboe’s position,” he said.

“Afterward, we were unbalanced in the middle of the field. But the other substitution was made to win the game.”

The Chiefs coach said his team’s attacking changes reflected their intention to pursue victory, although they were unable to convert their chances.

“We changed an offensive player to win the game because we always try to win. Unfortunately, today we hit the post. We had opportunities, but we didn’t score. So, let’s build on that,” Da Cruz added.

Despite their failure to score, Da Cruz remained confident that Chiefs’ performances would eventually produce better results.

“We are on the right track. We need to continue this way, and we are going to win games and score goals for sure.”

Chiefs also gave a debut to goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner, who replaced injured captain Brandon Petersen.

Leaner produced a solid display between the posts and could now challenge for a regular place in the Amakhosi starting XI.